Four Barriers to Communication

4. Choose FOUR barriers to communication and suggest, as a manager, how you might overcome such barriers.

Most people would agree that communication between two individuals should be simple. When people talk, we tend to erect barriers that hinder our ability to communicate. There are many barriers to communication and these may occur at any stage within the communication process. Barriers may lead to your message becoming distorted which can lead to confusion for the other individual of whom you are wishing to communicate with. For communication to become effective it involves overcoming these barriers and maintaining a clear and concise message at all times.

One barrier of communication within a working organisation is language. Within most organisations they may work internationally. It is vital that the individual communicating, communicates slowly and clearly. They must focus on being able to enunciate their words. Organisations may rush on the phone during busy times. It is vital that this doesn’t occur as miscommunication will occur which can then result in more time being wasted in clearing up the miscommunications. Another important factor is that you make sure you have understood what the other communicator has said if not, politely ask for clarification. Do not ever go on the basis of guessing what the communicator has said. Some forms of communication such as email or phone may not be as effective as others during complex communications; therefore it is vital that the right form of communication is appointed.

Another barrier of communication within a working environment can be the surroundings of which the communication is going to take place. The space of which the communication is being held is very important, as it is vital that all people communicating can see one another’s facial expressions. It is very important that the distance between the people communicating have the appropriate distance maintained between them during...